State adding 26 jobs to help ensure safe working conditions

With businesses seeing more positive coronavirus test results, Environment Department takes action

The state’s Occupational Health and Safety Bureau is seeking 26 employees to assist in New Mexico’s fight against COVID-19, the state Environment Department and Department of Workforce Solutions announced Thursday.

The Environment Department’s health and safety program works to ensure employers in New Mexico provide a safe and healthy workplace — not always an easy task in the coronavirus pandemic.

“The number of businesses seeing positive COVID-19 employees is doubling every week and our … program plays a critical role in keeping workers safe,” Environment Secretary James Kenney said in a news release.

The majority of the new employees will work in a rapid response capacity, supporting employers in navigating situations where an employee tests positive for the virus, Environment Department spokeswoman Maddy Hayden said. They will be responsible for guiding businesses through the process of stopping operations; testing and retesting employees; thoroughly disinfecting workplaces; and implementing functional, long-term safety plans.

The bureau also is hiring for investigative, legal, administrative and financial support staff.

“COVID has given us a ton more work,” Hayden said. “We need help.”

And they need it fast, a fact made plain at an information session for prospective employees Friday afternoon.

“We want to get people in the door and working by the end of next week,” said Jennifer Pruett, a deputy secretary for the Environment Department. “This will be a state government miracle of efficiency.”

Businesses have had to navigate changing restrictions and patrons who are reluctant to abide by those rules in recent months. On Thursday, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham reinstated restrictions on indoor dining services, effective Monday, in response to surging cases statewide.